Gospel of Wealth – Chapter Three

In the Garden

In the Garden of Eden, Adam lived in holiness of wealth. There was life without death, health without sickness, and food without work – there was no lack. The Living God richly provided every good and perfect thing for his enjoyment.

All needs and wants were met from God’s riches in glory. Wealth in the garden was perfect and complete and holy. It was heaven on earth.

The Garden was an exact representation of Heaven. No corruption existed. The glory of the Most High manifested freely, every day. Wealth transferred from heaven to earth unrestrained.

Every blessing that heaven had the garden sprang forth abundantly. Trees, seeded by heaven itself, yielded fruit from the very life and nature of God. Supernatural plants sprang up yielding the fruit of love, joy, peace, wisdom, knowledge, and strength. Life ruled.

Death and poverty didn’t exist. Heaven had none to plant. Heaven was the seed and Earth was the soil. Creator and creation were in perfect harmony. The garden was heaven on earth.

Adam lived in that garden. This was not a vegetable garden set in strait rows. There was no white picket fence. This garden was a complete kingdom, a heavenly domain that Adam presided over with royal aplomb. To the Earth, Adam was God.

Adam: looked just like God, talked just like God, thought just like God, acted just like God, and walked just like God. Adam was such an exact likeness of the Father that the Earth responded to him in the exact same way. He was God’s exact image. He was also God’s best friend and they shared the same traits, desires, hopes and dreams. They had a wonderful relationship.

Adam was the master of wealth. His words moved the Earth. He was the ‘most high’ on the planet – an awesome sight to behold.

People have been ruined by a religious image of Adam and Eve. Religious fiction has them prancing about with nothing on but a few well-placed fig leaves. Equally misguided is the notion that they were naked and didn’t know it. If Adam and Eve were naked and didn’t know it then they were not only naked but naked imbeciles. They were not naked and they knew it. Adam and Eve were clothed with the Glory of God.

They wore the glory of the Almighty. They adorned themselves with the wealth of Jehovah. The same light that shown out of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration is the light that clothed Adam from the inside out. The same glory that shown out of the face of Moses when he returned from the Mount with the Ten Commandments in his arms is the glory that covered Adam and Eve.

All creation is clothed with one kind of glory or another, animals with hair, fish with scales, and birds with feathers. The variety of species and the variations of glory range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Ugly ostriches bury their heads in shame. Plumed peacocks parade about like pompous pedants do with the letter P.

Never believe the myth that God went to exotic extremes in dressing his creation only to clothe his most prized possession in a grass skirt. God put on man what he wore – the radiant light of glory.Man was clothed with the glory of God.

His clothes proclaimed his class.Man was lord of the earth, not the lion. His apparel put the peacock to shame.

In society clothes proclaims class. It tells people exactly who we are and what we’re up to. When wealth increases it inevitably shows up on our bodies. Jewels get bigger. Gold gets heavier.

In some cultures people carry all their wealth on their bodies. Most try to symbolize it in some way. In still other cultures it is the servant who wares all the wealth, the weight of it being more ‘burden’ than beauty. Having a servant at all meant you were a person of position and to make your servant bear your riches only added to your prestige.

Symbols of Power
Joseph, when he was exalted to the head of ancient Egypt, was given a signet ring. A signet ring was the visible symbol of his authority, power, and wealth in Egypt. It could be carried with him everywhere he went. He couldn’t possibly carry all the wealth of the greatest kingdom on earth but that ring represented just as much.

Lucifer was in the garden of God. Every precious stone was his covering; carnelian, topaz, jasper, chrysolite, beryl, onyx, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald. His settings and engravings were of pure gold – the gold of heaven.

He was an angel of obvious privilege and status. The stones and engravings were for more than just appearance they gave him access to parts of the kingdom few others had. He was upon the holy mountain of God and walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Lucifer’s position as the anointed cherub – represented by the stones and insignia – gave him direct access to God and man. He could communicate freely with them only when he was wearing the proper attire.

Eve suspected no evil as Lucifer approached her in order to deceive. Why should she? He was clothed correctly. Unfortunately, his clothes said one thing and his tongue said another.

Lucifer, as beautiful and wealthy as he was, would never be as glorious as Adam. The wealth and prestige that Adam possessed exceeded Lucifer’s in every way. He was out-classed and irritated by this new god-man. Adam was God’s friend. Lucifer was God’s servant. Adam was king of the kingdom of Earth. Lucifer wasn’t.

Flaunted before Lucifer daily was God’s man – living just like the Most High. Jealousy filled Lucifer’s heart. Hatred burned in him like a fire. He thought he should be the one to rule the earthly kingdom, not Adam. He thought he could do a much better job. He believed he deserved the status much more than anyone – he was, after all, the anointed cherub. He wanted to be like the "Most High God." He had always desired to be like God yet, God gave it all away freely to some newly created being who never worked a day in his life! It was more than Lucifer could stand.

He devised a plan to strip Adam of his glory. He knew that the source of Adam’s prosperity was continuous contact with the Most High Himself. "If I could break that contact, I’ve won", he thought.He could only do it by casting doubt on God’s Word. "Has God said," became his infamous line…

Adam sinned and his communion with God’s holiness ended. The glorious light went out. Adam died.

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